Baby Girl Names to Love Right Now

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Edie is part of the Evie-Ellie et al family of cute and friendly short forms that sometimes stand on its own. Briefly popular in the 1960s, it could well be due for rediscovery. It's already a fashionable choice in the UK, where it has ranked just outside the Top 100 for several years.

An attractive French word name known here via former child TV star Soleil Moon Frye, aka Punky Brewster. It started to be lightly used in the U.S. in the 1920s and is now attracting some attention as both a sunny nature and an international word name. It's currently in the Nameberry Top 500.

Octavia began as the Latin, then Victorian name for an eighth child. While there aren't many eighth children anymore, this ancient Roman name has real possibilities as a substitute for the overused Olivia; recommended for its combination of classical and musical overtones. It was chosen for his daughter by Kevin Sorbo.

Soft name in the Mia-Nia-Tia family, Pia is heard in both European and Hindi languages.

Araminta is a poetic and enchanting eighteenth-century invention with plenty of elegance and a touch of old-fashioned clunkiness. It first appeared in William Congreve's 17th century comedy The Old Bachelor and then again in 1705 when it was used by architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh in his play The Confederacy.

Lilia is pretty double L name that makes for sparkly, floral choice with plenty of international flair. More distinctive that Lily, less popular than Liliana, Lia, and Lilian, Lilia was a new entry to the US Top 1000 in 2023.

Monroe is a presidential name which, thanks to the immortal beauty of Marilyn Monroe, is catching on fast for baby girls. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon chose it for their twin daughter, honoring Marilyn Monroe. Their use of Monroe as a girls’ name did much to revive this Old Man name, a la Sydney, as a newly fashionable choice for girls.

This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan.

Mika is a sparky and stylish Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. Also used as a Slovene and Hebrew diminutive for Mihaela and Michaela, as an alternative spelling to the Biblical Micah, and as a Greek diminutive of Dimitra (via Mimika), it is a truly multi-cultural choice.

Marcella is a name of Latin origin, which has been neglected for decades now. Depicted as the world's most beautiful woman in Don Quixote (where it's spelled Marcela), it has plenty of flair and elegance to revive it again.

Chiara is a lovely and romantic Italian name that's familiar but not widely used here: a real winner. You might consider Chiara instead of Claire, Clara, Cara, or even Keira.

Cosy and warm but with plenty of substance and strength, Tess is a literary diminutive that works perfectly well as a stand-alone name. Stylish in the Netherlands, it currently sits outside the Top 1000 in the US, where Tessa and Teresa are currently preferred.

Classic yet spritely, Tatiana has long been familiar and popular in Russia and Eastern Europe, though it wasn't until the 80s that it caught on in the English-speaking world. With short forms Tiana, Tati, and Tanya, it is a versatile choice that has nevertheless seen a decline in use in recent year.

Liv combines the succinct charm of a nickname—people might assume it's short for Olivia—with the solidity of being a classic stand-alone Scandinavian name with a life-force meaning. It was brought into the public eye (in the English speaking world that is) due to the fame of actress and Aerosmith daughter Liv Tyler.

Seren is a top girls' name in Wales – and a lovely choice almost unknown elsewhere. Seren, in the Sirona form, was an ancient goddess of the hot springs.

Alaia, a fast riser in the US, sounds just like several other popular stylish names, many of them with different origins and meanings. There's Arabic Aaliyah, like the late singer, and the Hebrew Aliya and the Sanskrit Alaya. Azzedine Alaia is a high-fashion Parisian designer of Tunisian origin.

Marguerite is a classic French name with a remnant of old-fashioned Gallic charm; and is also a variety of daisy. Chic again in Paris, it's definitely ripe for revival here.

Originally popularized in eighteenth century Europe due to the fame of Anna Amalia, a Duchess who was a great patron of the arts, Amalia is now a widely cross-cultural name, heard from Italy to Romania, Germany to Scandinavia. Popular in the Netherlands, Chile, France, and Puerto Rico, it can be pronounced as uh-MAH-lee-uh (English), a-MA-lya (Spanish), and ah-MA-lee-uh (German, Dutch), to list a few.
amal meaning "vigorous, unceasing, work", and while it may not be quite so popular in the English speaking work as its sibling, it has been on the rise in the US since 2011, when it re-joined the Top 1000 after an 80 year absence. Given to 550 American babies in a recent year, it is considerably less popular than Amelia — 23 times less popular, in fact.

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.